Amazon Should Buy Fort Worth-based Radio Shack

When’s the last time you were in a Radio Shack? For me it was two months ago, and I bought an overpriced headphone splitter. I was honestly surprised it still existed. The Fort Worth-based company has lost nearly 90 percent of its value in the past three years and is now worth only $325 million (down from $2.7 billion only two years ago), stamped out of the market by Amazon and other online retailers. Highlighting the reversal: Amazon has recently taken to installing lockers at RadioShacks where customers can pick up packages in a secure location.

The scenario of Amazon acquiring an ailing brick-and-mortar retailer like RadioShack, Sears or Best Buy (the latter two of which have market caps in the $5 billion range), has been talked about in the tech and dealmaker community. Such a move could give Amazon regional warehouses, a place for customers to pick up deliveries, and a storefront for popular items.

These locations could help Amazon as it expands into areas such as groceries that could benefit from same-day delivery or pickup. They might even become virtual showrooms where shoppers can place orders.

There are downsides, of course. By creating brick-and-mortar locations, Amazon could no longer avoid the sales taxes it has skipped on since its inception.